Steering mechanism for outboard motors



J.. P. WlLKlRSON 2,666,407

STEERING MECHANISM FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Jan. 19, 1954 3 Sheets$heet 1 Filed May 10, 1951 FIGHH 2 L m, w mun l l INVENTOR. JIM P. WILKIRSON ATTORNEY a 1954 J. P. WILKIRSON 2,666,4

STEERING MECHANISM FOR OUTBOARD'MOTORS Filed May 10, 19 51 "s Sheets-Sheet 2 FFG. 4

. INVENTOR.

JIM P. WILKIRSON ATTORNEY Jan. 19, 1954 w soN 2,666,407

STEERING MECHANISM FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Filed May 10, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 YINVENTOR. J |M P. WILKIRSON ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 19, 1954 2,666,407 OFFICE STEERING MECHANISM FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Jim P. Wilkirson, Waco, Tex. Application May 10, 1951, Serial No. 225,625

8 Claims.

This invention relates for small boats or canoes having outboard motors.

Among other objects, the invention aims to provide a construction permitting an occupant of a boat to steer it by turning the outboard motor (with the usual propeller and, in some cases, a rudder) Without use of his hands or feet, thereby permitting that occupant to devote his entire attention to manipulating a fishing rod or line. The construction of the invention permits perfect control of steering by merely shifting the position of the operators body relative to the boat; thus one man can steer a boat around logs, snags, sand bars, rocks and other obstructions and can simultaneously manipulate a fly rod or casting rod with both hands.

A further object is to provide a construction which may be installed on'most small boats or skiffs; in fact, the installation may be made by one man withoutspecial skill or tools.

Another object is to provide an attachment adaptable for several different types of outboard motors.

Another object is to provide an attachment for steering outboard-motor-driven boats which is readily disconnected when it is desired to steer by hand in the conventional manner,

Other objects will be apparent from the following description of the preferred form of the invention, togetherwith one of the many modifications which express the inventive concept.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and showing the parts somewhat diagrammatically- V Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the stern of a small boat shown with an outboard motor and the steering attachment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 but showing the backrest folded down or closed;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

the backrest being shown upright as in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the seat showing in dot-and-dash lines how it may be manipulated;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section through the seat, on the same scale as Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing part of the seat and its mounting;

Fig. 7 is a detail showing the connection between one end of the cable and the movable seat;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a modification;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 8; and 1 Fig. 10 is a detail inper pective of a modification.

Referring particularly to the drawings, the reference character ll designates a boat'or skiff of any ordinary construction, and I2 is an'outboard to steering attachments motor clamped upon the stern of the boatandhaving a substantiallyyerticalpropeller shaft I 3 and a steering lever I4. 11-, will bejunderstood that a propeller (and usually, a rudder) are'mounted at the lower end of shaft l3; these parts are not shown as they form no part of the invention. The boat may be propelled and steered by the outboard motor assembly when the motor is running and the lever 14 is turned by the hand of the operator, it being understood that the outboard motor may be turned through a wide angle in order to effect such turning, or in the event a swing of the motor is made, as is possible with some motors, a reversal or backing of the boat will take place.

Mounted on the stern seat l5 of the boat is a relatively fiat rolling seat I 6 on which the operator sits. This seat may include a cushion, not shown. Two or more parallel rails I1, I 8 are made fast to seat [5. For convenience these rails may be angle irons, as shown, or they may be small I- beams or have other shapes. A pair of shafts I9, 20 are fixed crosswise of rolling seat I6 on the underside, and a pair of grooved rollers 2 I, 22 are rotatable on each shaft I9, 20, said rollers preferably being ball-bearing to cut down friction to a minimum. By this means the rolling seat 16 may roll on the stern seat 15 crosswise of the boat, its own weight, plus that of the operator, holding it on the rails. A backrest 23, which may be cushioned, is adapted to stand upright as shown in Fig. 3, in which position it is held by a pair of braces 24, 25, or it may be folded in the manner shown in Fig. 4 and when so folded will lie horizontally on top of the rolling seat I6. Braces 24, 25 have enlarged ends or heads 25a, 25a and slide through eyelets or ring guides 26, 27 swiveled respectively on the end of the backrest and on the end of seat I6, so that the change from the vertical position of Fig. 3 tothe folded position of Fig. 4 is facilitated. If necessary additional members (not shown) may be used to prevent relative shifting of the backrest longitudinally of seat l6. These and other minor details of construction are omitted as the invention is not concerned with them. Pins 28 are fixed at each end of the rolling seat I6 and project outwardly for engagement by the overlapping end edges of the backrest to support the same in the folded position.

The rails ll, l8 may be secured together in parallelism by a pair of angle bars 29, 30 welded or otherwise fixed to the ends of the rails to form a rectangular track frame which is rigid and has a'width equal to that of a standard wooden boat seat. This track frame may be drilled (not shown) and screws or bolts may be passed through registering holes drilled also in the boat seat It, to secure the track frame rigidly yet permit its removal when desired. Lugs 3|, 32 welded or otherwise secured to the sides of the rails may project downwardly at spaced points, in contact with'the front and rear edges of seat l5 to guide the attachment when it is shown), said pins being telescoped' in the ends of the tubular arms as shown and being welded.

or otherwise immovably fastened to the track frame at said corners. At their outer or free end the tubular arms 33, 34 carry small pulleys 3-1 which are either pivotally mounted as shown. or are swivel pulleys, as will be understood without illustration. These pulleys 31 guidea wire cable 38 one end of which is attached to a pin 39 (Fig. 4) fixed to the seat edge. Cable 38 passes around a pulley 3! to and completely around the lower part of the casing or crankcase of the outboard motor l2 and back around the other guide pulley 3] to a turnbuckle 39? which is screwed on ahook 49 (Fig. 7) and also on an eye-bolt 4i screwed or otherwise secured to the bottom edge of the backrest 23. Cable 38 may be disconnected from hook 40 whenever its tension is diminished by turning the turnbuckle 3%. If desired a tension spring '(not shown) may be employed with cable 38 to keep it in tension so that it will have the necessary frictional engagement with the crankcase.

In Figs. 8 and. 9 I show a slightly different construction wherein a steering sector ring 50 is bolted on an outboard motor of the type known as a Martin 60, which makes a 180 turn for reversing the boat. The cable 38 is in two parts which are received in a groove 52 in the steering sector ring and are attached thereto and cross each other and then extend to their connections with the seat. In this construction the arms 33, 34 and pulleys 31 are not necessary. In Fig. l0 I show a modification comprising two U-shaped brackets 55 connected together by a strap or bar 55, the brackets fitting over the transom of the boat and supporting the same pulleys 31 which in the previous formwere on the ends of tubular arms. Cable 38 is guided around these pulleys 3:1. Various other changes and modifications may be resorted to within the cop of the appended claims.

K am a re f the B s o d nt o- 1,133,738 dated ll/larch 30, 1915, and do not claim such a construction; but I claim:

In @Qi Iinaiien w t a s er e ut m or. ri Pro e le ass m pt to be mounted on the stern of a small boat, a support adapted to be removably fixed upon the rear end of the boat, aseat member movably supported .on said support so as to travel laterally of the boat when moved by muscular force of an operator seated thereon, and mechanical connections including flexible cable means connectingthe seat member and the steerable outboard motor assembly, and cable-guiding means, said cable means and cable-guiding means being constructed and arranged so that the seated operator by moving the seat member laterally by muscular force may steer the boat through turning of the outboard motor and propeller assembly.

2. In combination with a boat having a bottom, a stern, a steerable outboard motor mounted at the stern and .a stern seat, an auxiliary seat mounted on the stern seat, means supporting the auxiliary seat on the stern seat so that the auxiliary seat may only move in straight lines back and forth laterally .of the boat, and means including a cable operatively connecting the auxiliary seat with theoutboard motor so that movement of the auxiliary seat laterally of the boat by the operators-body, when seated thereon with his feet braced against the bottom of the 4 beat, efiects steering of the boat through turning of the'sterable outboard motor.

3. In combination with a boat having a steerable outboard motor mounted at its stern and a seat built in the stern, a track frame secured on top of said stern seat, a movable auxiliary seatrollably supported on top of the track frame, said movable seat being rolled laterally of the boat by the muscular force of the operators body when seated, and flexible means connecting the movable seat with the outboard motor so that said lateral movement steers the boat through turning of the outboard motor.

4. The invention defined in claim 3, wherein the track frame has parallel rails over which roll sets of rollers mounted on the underside of the movable seat.

5. The invention defined in claim 3, wherein the lateral movable seat has a pair of arms rigidly secured thereto at their ends and extending outwardly and rearwardly therefrom, a pulley movably mounted on the outer end of each armja cable secured at both ends to the laterally movable seat and passing over the pulleys and around the casing" of the outboard motor, and means conne'ctedto the cable to impart tension to said cable.

6. The invention defined in claim 3, wherein the outboard motor has a" construction permitting a 'turn for reversing the boat, and a grooved steering sector ring is clamped on the outboard motor so as to'lie in a' substantially horizontal plane and surround the motor par- 'tially, cables being received in the groove of the steering sector ring and each cable being secured thereto at one of 'its ends, the cables' crossing each other and being secured to the laterally movable seat at their other ends.

7. The invention defined in'claim 3, wherein the means connecting the seat with the outboard motor includes a cable secured at both ends to the seat, pulleys which are supported at spaced points on the transom of the boat guiding said cable, the other ends of the cable being secured to the motor so as to turn the same.

8. In combination, a seat support adapted to be removably seeured upon the stern seat of a small boat or skiff, said seat support providing seat-guiding means extending laterally of the boat, an auxiliary seat mounted on said seatguiding means and constrained thereby to reciprocate laterally of the 'bo at,'a backrest which is hinged to and is ioldable down on top of said auxiliary seat, means supporting the backrest in substantially vertical position, and means includ ing flexible members fixed to the lower part of the backrest when vertical, said flexible members being adapted to be operatively connected with a steerable outboard motor, so that movement of the auxiliary seat by muscular force exerted by the seated operator may steer the boat.

r p. WILKVIRSON.

References Cited in the file of this "patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 277,667 Blanchard May 15, 1883 4415M Chubb Nov. 25, 1890 486,684 Salisbury Nov. 22, 1892 888,366 Sutton -May 19, 1908 --1,634,257 Garro Jul 5, 1927 ;1,-',701,6.84 Lee l Feb. 1 2', 1929 -1,s4s,0.s9 aeck Jan. 26,1932 1,961,506 Millican June 5, 1934 

